Uncovering the hidden history and heritage of the invalid carriage

Simon McKeown, Reader in the MIMA School of Art at Teesside University, will be sharing his passion for invalid carriages in a new exhibition at Thought Foundation, based in Birtley.

Simon has been conducting research for National Lottery Heritage Fund project The Carrying of Passengers is Forbidden, which aims to uncover the hidden history and heritage of the invalid carriage and its users.

Visitors to the exhibition at Thought Foundation will be able to see some of the images which have been discovered so far, hinting at the human stories which go with them. There will also be an example of the iconic little blue Invacar, one of the vehicles which was granted to disabled people before it was replaced by the current Motability scheme.

Simon, who is also Director of the Invalid Carriage Register, exhibited two other invalid carriages from his own collection at the Museum of Liverpool and St. George’s Hall, Liverpool, in November last year. Nearly 70,000 people visited them.

Now, Simon is keen to build on this success to uncover more stories and memories about the invalid carriages and the people who relied on them in our region. Anyone with any stories or photographs which they can share should contact Simon.

He said: 'There is a great beauty in these cars and we want to recognise their historical importance and present them in a way that will engage a whole new audience.'

Among other exhibitors is Kev Howard, who is in his final year of study on the MA Fine Art at Teesside University. Kev, who has also been working as a volunteer for the Carrying of Passengers is Forbidden research project, will be showing a selection of his own work.

The preview for the Passengers Forbidden as part of the Let’s Discuss Disability Event will be held from 6.00pm to 9.00pm on 2 May at Thought Foundation, Birtley.

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